Hi, Lyra! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi, Nerd Daily—thanks so much for having me! I’m Lyra Selene, fantasy author of the YA Amber & Dusk duology and the adult Fair Folk trilogy, beginning with A Feather So Black and continuing with A Crown So Silver, out everywhere this week! I write stories about brooding landscapes, twisted magic, the price of power, and the alchemy of love. I like to think of my books as magic spells—lyrical but uncanny, glamours to beguile the senses and whisk you away to somewhere wonderful and achingly untouchable.

In my mundane life, I live in New England with my husband, daughter, and tyrannical dog in an antique farmhouse that’s probably not haunted. I write from a tiny upstairs office cluttered with coffee cups and piles of books I refuse to organize.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I genuinely cannot remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with reading and writing. As a kid, I memorized my library card number so I could rattle it off to the librarians while checking out literal stacks of books. My childhood journals are full of half-baked stories—most notably, an ongoing saga about a warrior princess named Jade and her trusty unicorn steed. The only surprise is that it took me so long to figure out I wanted to be a writer!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: I have a distinct memory of my mom reading me a lushly illustrated fairytale about people wearing outlandish hats (I’ve tried to track down the book with zero success!)
• The one that made you want to become an author: Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series!
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Most recently, Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan!

A Crown So Silver is the second installment in your Fair Folk series and it’s out January 21^st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Frostbound trials; love, destiny, transformation.

What can readers expect from the sequel?

Readers can expect everything they loved about A Feather So Black, only with more expansive world-building, new characters, higher stakes, and even more romance!

In this sequel, Fia—a changeling princess with a mysterious past—must leave behind everything she’s known in the human realms to travel deeper into Tir na nÓg with her new husband, Irian. But the Silver Isle proves less a safe haven than a dangerous ordeal. Both Fia and Irian soon become embroiled in the brutal Tournament of Kings as they vie for its prize—the mystical Oak King’s Crown—against Fia’s sister Eala and a magically enthralled prince Rogan. They’ll have to navigate shifting loyalties, deadly games, long-buried magic, and their own conflicting motivations as their love is tested yet again.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?

Yes! I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but there’s a side character from the first book who takes a more central role in the sequel. They leapt off the page with such a strong voice and irrepressible personality that I couldn’t resist giving them a bigger role than I originally intended. I had so much fun writing them that I actually decided to give them a number of POV chapters in the third and final book of the series!

Did you face any challenges with writing? How did you overcome them?

With this book in particular, I did struggle a bit with “middle book syndrome.” The second book in a trilogy is by nature a bridge—a continuation spanning the introduction of the first novel with the ultimate conclusion of the third, while also necessarily containing its own story arc. There were times when I wasn’t sure how to balance the characters’ development, the world-building, and the overall plot in order to write a satisfying installment that operates within a larger series.

Ultimately, I first wrote the story I needed to tell myself and then relied on my amazing critique partners and editors to help me shape it into its final form! I’m really pleased with the end result and I hope everyone else will be too.

What’s next for you?

The third book and finale to the Fair Folk trilogy will release in 2026. Stay tuned for a title and cover reveal later this year!

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?

There are so many amazing novels releasing this year, but topping my list at the moment are Upon a Starlit Tide, by Kell Woods; A Dance of Lies, by Brittney Arena; and Grave Flowers, by Autumn Krause!

Will you be picking up A Crown So Silver? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Lyra Selene, Author of ‘A Crown So Silver’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Lyra Selene’s A Feather So Black, which is out now.

In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the wicked Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen’s daughter and retreated behind the locked gates of Tír na nÓg.

Most despise Fia’s fae blood. But the queen raises her as a daughter and trains her to be a spy. Meanwhile, the real princess Eala is bound to Tír na nÓg, cursed to become a swan by day and only returning to her true form at night.

When a hidden gate to the realm is discovered, Fia is tasked by the queen to retrieve the princess and break her curse. But she doesn’t go with her is prince Rogan, Fia’s dearest childhood friend—and Eala’s betrothed.

As they journey through the forests of the Folk, where magic winds through the roots of the trees and beauty can be a deadly illusion, Fia’s mission is complicated by her feelings for the prince…and her unexpected attraction to the dark-hearted fae lord holding Eala captive. Irian might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one ever has.

Soon, Fia begins to question the truth of her mission. But time is running out to break her sister’s curse. And unraveling the secrets of the past might destroy everything she has come to love.

Chapter One
Gort— Ivy
Autumn

I should not have drunk the blackberry wine. It slid violet through my veins and pricked sharp thorns at the nape of my neck. I’d thought it would calm me—focus my mind on the task at hand—but the opposite was true. I felt loose and reckless, jittering with nerves. I curled my hands tighter around my cup, fighting the brambles nettling at my fingertips.

Served me right for drinking on duty.

“More wine?” Connla Rechtmar, prince of Fannon, leaned forward in his fur-draped seat. He sloshed a carafe of purple liquid and flashed me an expectant smile. “Or do I need to offer you something stronger to make you take off that cloak you’re hiding under?”

By now, the wine had traveled to my face, and I fought a flush—not of girlish embarrassment, but of fury. He had the audacity to speak to me like I was some timid strumpet? I could break his neck without breaking a sweat.

My wine-spiked blood pounded between my ears, hot with the prospect of violence.

I reminded myself that Connla didn’t know what I was capable of. And if I had any sense, I’d keep it that way.

The tent was too warm, the fire roaring to ward off late autumn’s chill. I would’ve preferred it cold—a bite of frost to keep me alert. I forced myself to count off the steps of my mission through the fevered muddle of my thoughts:

One. Get to the carafe of wine.

Two. Drug the wine.

Three. Smother Connla’s unconscious face in his mound of seduction furs. (If I had time.)

Four. Find the prince’s captive darrig.

Five. Bring the wicked creature to my mother.

I took a deep breath, even as I pressed a thumb against the bracelet I wore around my wrist, a woven circle of dried poison ivy, nettle, and bramble. It dug into the tender ring of irritated skin below it. The flare of pain untangled the snarl of my thoughts.

I undid the clasp of my heavy woolen cloak, dropping it to the floor before my skin could prickle with sharp thorns. Without the outer garment, the air was blessedly cooler on my bare arms and exposed collarbones. I looked up through my lashes at Connla, gauging his reaction to my kirtle—or lack thereof. The sheer forest-green silk was striking against my pale skin and did little to disguise my physique. The thin shoulder straps were unnecessary considering how tight I’d cinched the bodice, accentuating my modest curves and slender waist. The high slit in the skirt left little to the imagination.

It achieved the desired effect. Connla’s eyes widened, then darkened. He shifted in his chair. I fought the urge to shudder at the vulgar anticipation slicking his gaze.

Truthfully, I could have worn a grain sack or a few judiciously placed oak leaves. Connla wanted me, with or without the clinging dress, and I’d known it since that morning.

For the past fortnight, all the under- kings and noblemen of Fódla had been camped near Rath na Mara—the high queen’s capital—to participate in the Áenach Tailteann, funeral games held to celebrate and mourn kings of Fódla. This year’s assembly honored the late under-king of Eòdan and crowned his heir.

For the first few days, the high queen, Eithne Uí Mainnín—my adoptive mother—had presided over the creation of new laws, followed by a great funeral pyre in the king’s honor. Then the games had begun—trials of physical and mental prowess that allowed young warriors and poets the opportunity to prove their strength, valor, and wit.

Connla Rechtmar had represented his father’s household in a few categories—archery, horse racing, blades. He’d won all his matches—an odd bit of luck, considering he was lazy and slow, even for a prince.

Mother had not allowed me to compete. No—I was her secret, her instrument, her weapon. Flaunting my skills before her nobles was of no use to her—not if she wished me to spy on them, tease out their secrets, hunt down their weaknesses. So, as always, she kept me beside her in the queen’s box, demurely dressed and diffident. The queen’s favored fosterling—a strange, quiet little mouse.

That was where Connla noticed me. It wasn’t unusual to feel eyes on the side of my face—even though I looked chaste and obedient, there were the rumors. There were always the rumors—about where I’d come from, why I looked the way I did, why the queen took particular interest in me. But Connla’s regard was different—an oily kind of interest I didn’t find particularly flattering. I was debating whether I could surreptitiously give him the two-fingered salute across the ring, when Mother leaned over to me. She pretended to tuck an errant lock of sable hair beneath my veil.

“Rechtmar’s son desires you,” she murmured to me, too quiet or her other attendants to hear.

“I noticed,” I grumbled. And then, hopefully: “May I kill him for it?”

“You may not.” She almost smiled. “Cathair?”

Ollamh Cathair—the queen’s druid, chief advisor, and long-term lover—moved from his place behind her. He slid onto the bench beside me as Mother returned her attention to the archery contest below. His unwanted closeness chased away my cheekiness, but I forced myself not to flinch.

Cathair was a slender middle-aged man with a mild bearing. But his looks were his best deception. He had trained me in many things these past eleven years. Folklore. Ciphers. Poisons. Espionage. But first and foremost, he had taught me never to show my enemy how much I hated him.

“Fannon has been exceptionally lucky in their border skirmishes this year,” Cathair muttered. “Flash floods sweeping away enemy troops, falling trees blocking supply wagons. That kind of thing. My informants believe they may have captured a darrig.”

Although the Fair Folk found ways to slink into our realm, it was expressly forbidden to consort with them. To keep a darrig was treason—the gnome-like creatures could predict events not yet passed and affect the outcome of simple occurrences. A tree falling, perhaps. The direction of a flood. Or even the outcome of a sword fight in a tournament.

“You believe Connla has the darrig?” I guessed, keeping my eye on the prince in question, who was celebrating his lucky wins by lazily swilling ale in the stands.

“Old Rechtmar is past his prime,” Cathair told me. “Connla is his heir, his war advisor, and the captain of his fianna. If anyone has it, it will be Connla. Capture the thing for us, won’t you?”

“You mean execute it.” I glanced past Cathair to the queen. “Don’t you?”

“Not this time.” His expression held the kind of deadly intent I’d learned not to question. “We have a use for the creature.”

I hid my uncertainty. Mother despised and distrusted the Fair Folk—they who had once ruled this land as gods. They were wicked, fickle, violent creatures who did not belong in the human realm. During a diplomatic delegation twenty years ago, the Folk had assassinated the high king, Mother’s husband. The unjustified execution had incited the Gate War. The fight had been savage and bloody, until the Folk had effectively ended it by stealing away twelve human girls—the last, the queen’s own daughter.

Mother never utilized the treacherous Folk for her own devices. Except me, the changeling child who had been left in her daughter’s place twelve years ago. But after so much time in the queen’s household, I was far more human than Folk. And everything I did for Mother, I did willingly.

Including this.

I refocused my attention on Connla, who was still staring brazenly at me from below. “How am I supposed to find the darrig?”

“You’ve demonstrated your tactical skills to me, little witch. And you’ve been developing an adequate head for subterfuge.” Cathair’s voice was sardonic. “But you have not yet proved yourself adept at seduction.”

I wasn’t thrilled by that idea. But what Cathair—and by extension, Mother—asked of me, I obeyed.

So here I was—a little drunk, sweating my arse off in a gown that left nothing to the imagination, as an overfed prince beckoned me closer with greedy fingers. Again, I fought a shudder of disgust.

I reminded myself this face did not belong to me. Nor the body, most likely. Who cared if I used them as tools, as weapons? They were nothing but what I made of them.

I swayed toward Connla, pasting on a slow smile and swinging my hips more than was strictly necessary. He patted his knee and I lowered myself onto his lap, gritting my teeth as his hand slithered around my waist.

“Yes, more wine is exactly what we need,” I murmured, leaning into him. “But won’t you allow me to serve you this time, my prince?”

I reached for the carafe of wine. But Connla caught my hand with one of his own, gripping my wrist. His eyes raked me from head to toe, bright with a canny light.

“I didn’t expect your message tonight, my lady.” His breath was hot and sour on my cheek. “Nor did I expect you to show up in my tent, half-dressed and eager for wine.”

“What can I say?” I clenched my jaw harder behind my smile. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you. Besides, it’s hard to find a decent drink up at Rath na Mara.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps you had some other reason.” His eyes glittered. “You see, after your unexpected note, I confess I told a few local lads about it. I maybe even bragged a bit. And what they had to say about you was . . . interesting.”

His hand tightened around my wrist, sending pain flaring up my arm.

“The thing is, Fia Ní Mainnín, everyone says you’re not actually a cousin of the queen. They say you’re a little witch. A cailleach, if you can believe it.” His voice took on an unpleasant note. “Now, I’ve lain with a witch or two before, so I couldn’t care less about that. But they also say your power comes from the Folk. They say you’re a changeling.”

Shite.

“Changeling?” I forced a laugh, which came out reedy. “The wine must have addled your wits, my lord. I’m the queen’s fosterling.”

“I know what I heard.” His expression was implacable. “You’re unnatural. Look at you—your hair is dark as deep water. Your mismatched eyes are strange enough to give a man nightmares. You’re small enough to snap like a twig in the forest. I’d wager money on it—you’re a filthy changeling, like they said. Where did the high queen find you? How does she keep you? And what must I do to take you from her?”

I froze at the menace—the hunger—in Connla’s voice. His grip on me tightened painfully. My options were narrowing by the moment. My veins itched with brambles, and I fantasized—brilliantly, achingly—of wrapping my fingers around his throat and choking him with thorns. Filling his mouth with sharp leaves, blanking his eyes with wet berries until I returned him to the land as a creeping, stinging blackberry bush.

It would be so easy.

But mother would eat my liver for breakfast if I Greenmarked one of her under-kings’ heirs without her say‑so. With more willpower than I knew I possessed, I calmed myself.

Still, his words crept into my mind on serrated little feet.

You’re small enough to snap like a twig in the forest.

The words rankled me, although they were half-true—I was small. I’d always been small. When Mother first sent me to her weapons masters to learn to ride and shoot and wrestle and fence, I was nine, and small even for my age. I couldn’t draw the longbows favored by Mother’s fianna; I couldn’t reach the backs of their fine tall stallions; I couldn’t even begin to lift the broad, straight claimhte carried by proud fénnidi into battle. So I fashioned my own bows out of young saplings I found in the wood, and I taught myself to ride bareback on fleet marsh ponies too small for grown adults and to fight fast and dirty with a dagger in both hands. Even now, at twenty, I was small—shorter than most and lean from strict exercise and rigorous sparring.

But size wasn’t everything. The height of a bow was worth less than the aim of the archer. The stride of a horse was worth less than its will to run. The length of a sword was worth less than the edge on its blade.

I was small. I was a changeling, although I’d be damned if I admitted it to this fatted prince. But I was fast and fierce and unrelentingly trained.

Screw the revealing dress and the subterfuge. I was going to have to do this my way.

Without warning, I jabbed my free hand inward, catching Connla’s bicep above his elbow. He grunted as the muscle spasmed. His grip on my wrist relaxed—I wrenched my hand free and sucker punched him in the face. He reeled away, dumping me out of his lap. Blood dripped down his chin, staining the expensive rug under his feet.

“You bitch,” he gasped wetly.

“Bitch, witch.” I shrugged. “Just don’t ever call me changeling again.”

I climbed him like a ladder before he could so much as make a fist. Wrapping both arms around his head, I swung my legs around his neck—the fabric of my dress audibly ripping—and threw myself backward. My weight jerked Connla forward, cartwheeling him head over arse. He landed hard on his back, the wind visibly gusting out of his chest.

I landed neatly on my feet. I crouched over him where he flailed like a gutted fish, planting my elbows on my knees and staring into his blood-drenched face.

“Tell me where the darrig is,” I demanded.

It took him a long time to draw enough breath to say, “No.”

“Fine,” I told him. “I’ll find the wretched creature myself.” I slammed his skull against the edge of the fire pit. His eyes rolled and his head lolled sideways.

The tent was large, but it wasn’t endless. There were only so many places you could hide one of the Fair Folk, especially if you were keeping it captive. Somewhere out of the moonlight, which lent them power. Within a cage made of iron, which sapped their strength. I skipped the bed—mounded with soft furs, its purpose was revoltingly clear—and turned to Connla’s war trunk.

Locked, of course. I could pick it, but that would take precious minutes I didn’t have. Connla wouldn’t be out for long. I laid my hand against the mechanism, then hesitated.

Little witch.

When I was ten, I’d found an injured hedgehog at the edge of the forest. I snuck it into my chambers, hiding it beneath my bed. I’d come to adore it, nursing it back to health and naming it Pinecone. But I’d let it get too close to me. One day, I’d fallen asleep with it tucked against my chest, beneath my shirt. When I woke, my magic had taken Pinecone from me—all that remained were clods of dirt and flecks of blood held together by pine needles and wood sap.

Some people—Mother in particular—saw my magic as a gift. I knew it to be a curse. It never gave, only took.

Blood throbbed against my palm, dark with shadow and hot with wine. I hesitated a second longer, then closed my eyes. I imagined thick brambles studded with dark fruit and capped with sharp thorns. When I opened my eyes, tough briars had snaked into the mechanism.

The metal groaned, bent. Snapped. I threw the trunk open.

At first, it looked like Connla’s trunk was full of jumbled sticks. But I blinked, and it was the darrig—a hunched and broken creature, with a body like a stump and limbs like gnarled branches and eyes like glossy pebbles. The iron cage Connla kept it in was too small—the darrig’s legs didn’t have room to bend without touching the metal, and ugly welts vied for space with bruises on its tree-bark skin. The sickening stench of burnt wood and rotting mulch wafted out of the trunk.

“Help,” the darrig croaked.

Sympathy pulsed through me, warring with my purpose for being here. The darrig might be a wicked, deceitful creature from Tír na nÓg. But not even fiends deserved the treatment Connla had given it. Stuffed into a tiny cage, starved and beaten.

I steeled my emotions. The Gate War had been fought with battle metal and mortal blood, nightmares and stolen fears. It had claimed countless lives. The war might technically be over—the Gates closed and buried, Mother’s vast fianna disbanded—but it had never ended. It was now simply fought on different fields.

I turned away from the creature, casting about for where I’d left my cloak. I needed something to wrap around the cage, to—

Fingers brittle as twigs wrapped tight around my wrist. I whipped around. The darrig had squeezed its wizened arm through the bars of its cage, ignoring the metal searing its flesh. It was surprisingly strong—although I shook my wrist in disgust, it held on to me with grim determination.

“Help.” An inexplicable glimmer of hope touched its depthless eyes. “Mend the broken heart. End the sorrow. Give what life is left, so we may see the morrow.”

“What are you talking about?” I twisted my arm, but the thing wouldn’t let me go. “Are you asking me to put you out of your misery?”

There was a thud behind me, drowning out whatever response the creature would have made. A hand wrapped around one of the braids coiled at my crown, brutally yanking my head back.

Through watering eyes, I saw Connla looming behind me. His arm snaked around my throat and squeezed, sending pain spiking from my neck to my skull.

“Dishonorable bastard,” I croaked. I had severely underestimated his recovery time.

“Treacherous changeling,” he growled.

My vision blurred.

Wrapping my hands around his elbow joint, I pivoted, swinging sharply away and breaking his hold. I slid one hand to his wrist, still gripping his elbow in the other, and cranked his arm sharply. He cried out, leaning back to avoid my breaking his arm. One swift kick to his leg sent him to his knees. Another returned him to the floor.

This time, I was angry. I flung myself down on top of him, clamping my legs around his arms and torso. One of my hands found the hilt of my razor-sharp skean; the other, jammed into the soft space where Connla’s throat throbbed, began to change. My veins went green. The tracery of serrated leaves was lace on my skin. And little thorns—sharp as a blackberry bramble—prickled my palm and fingertips. A trickle of blood dripped down Connla’s neck, and his throat worked, fear muddling his gaze. Some corner of my mind screamed at me to release him, to shake out the fury bruising my blood.

But it was too late. I hadn’t wanted to kill him before.

I did now.

Black and red and tumultuous green flared behind my eyes. I lowered my knife toward his throat.

Hands clamped down on my shoulders.

I cursed—yet again, I’d forgotten to watch my back.

The post Read An Excerpt From ‘A Feather So Black’ by Lyra Selene appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

If you’re ready to escape 2024 for a little while, then look no further than these upcoming January to June 2024 fantasy and science fiction book releases! With releases from the likes of Sarah J. Maas, Mike Chen, ST. Gibson, Micaiah Johnson, Hannah Kaner, Taran Matharu, P. Djèlí Clark, Hannah Whitten, Veronica Roth, and many more, along with some very exciting debut novels!

Read on to discover some wonderful new reads within this list and be sure to check out our other 2024 round-ups too, including our Most Anticipated, our Swoonworthy Romance, and Anticipated YA lists!

JANUARY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
An epic reimagining of the Mahabharata and a blend of House of the Dragon meets Succession.

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt’s world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Told through the eyes of a murdered scientist whose consciousness has been implanted in a resurrected wooly mammoth and this story speaks to the folly of forcing nature down an unnatural path.

Mislaid In Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Portals and danger, and a girl who can find both in the next book in the Hugo and Nebula Award–Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Unbound by Christy Healy

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For fans of Hannah Whitten and Rebecca Ross, Unbound is a gender-bent reimagining of the classic tale of a monstrous beast and the beauty determined to tame it, set against the lush backdrop of Irish mythology and folklore.

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Slip into a lush world of magic, stardust, and monsters in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy from debut author Georgia Summers.

The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop.org
A love letter to Black readers of science-fantasy, The Principle of Moments is a symphonic, centuries-spanning adventure – unmissable for fans of the spacefaring found family of Becky Chambers, the alternate London of V. E. Schwab, and the virtuosic climate-craft of N. K. Jemisin.

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Two elven sisters become imprisoned in the intoxicating world of the fae, where danger and love lie in wait. Faebound is the first book in an enchanting new trilogy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Final Strife.

A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
It’s an average Thursday for Carter Cho… until the particle accelerator explodes and sends him back in time. Carter continuously relives the week never making it to Friday. Lonely and in need of help, he manages to pull Mariana into the time loop, and together they must find a way to finally reach the end of the week.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Atlas Complex marks the much-anticipated, heart-shattering conclusion in Olivie Blake’s trilogy that began with the New York Times bestselling phenomenon, The Atlas Six.

Exordia by Seth Dickinson

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Michael Crichton meets Marvel’s Venom in award-winning author Seth Dickinson’s science fiction debut

FEBRUARY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Redsight by Meredith Mooring

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An imaginative new space opera for fans of Gideon the Ninth filled with sapphic romance, space pirates, a blind witch and powerful priestesses.

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Revolution is brewing in the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, between humans and the fathomfolk who live in its waters. This gloriously imaginative debut fantasy, inspired by East Asian mythology and ocean folk tales, is a novel of magic, rebellion and change.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett.

The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A magically gifted con artist must gather her estranged mother’s old crew for a once-in-a-lifetime heist, from the New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance, The Book of Doors opens up a thrilling world of contemporary fantasy for readers of The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus, and any modern story that mixes the wonder of the unknown with just a tinge of darkness.

Medea by Eilish Quin

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Discover the full story of the sorceress Medea, one of the most reviled and maligned women of Greek antiquity, in this propulsive and evocative debut in the tradition of Circe, Elektra, and Stone Blind.

Exit Black by Joe Pitkin

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Die Hard meets The Martian–with a dash of Knives Out–in this action-packed sci-fi thriller.

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood. 

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.

The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The third novel in Richard Swan’s acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy triumphantly concludes the tale of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice – a detective, judge and executioner all in one. 

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For fans of David Mitchell, Ruth Ozeki, and Kazuo Ishiguro, an elegant and exhilarating literary speculative novel about an isolated town neighbored by its own past and future, and a young girl who spots two elderly visitors from across the border: the grieving parents of the boy she loves.

MARCH 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Luck is its own kind of magic, in this first book in an electrifying new contemporary fantasy series from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Hollows novels.

A Touch of Chaos by Scarlett St. Clair

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The gods are at war in the highly-anticipated final installment of the Hades and Persephone story, from bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair

Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Faced with a coming apocalypse, a woman must reckon with her past to solve a series of sudden and inexplicable deaths in a searing sci-fi thriller from the Compton Crook Award–winning author of The Space Between Worlds.

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Return to the world of Godkiller in this thrilling sequel to the #1 internationally bestselling fantasy debut, where Kissen and her companions must navigate lands of gods and demons to unravel a dark truth at the heart of their world.

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Set in a world of perilous magic and moonlit forests, this seductive romantic fantasy tells the story of a defiant changeling, her cursed sister, and the dangerous fae lord she must defeat to save her family.

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A compulsively readable queer sci-fi novel about a marriage of convenience between a Mars politician and an Earth refugee.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
An unpredictable roller coaster of a debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace is a genre-bending romantasy that challenges everything we think we know about true love.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Woods All Black is equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia,

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
This cozy debut science fiction novel tells a story of misfits, rebels, found family—and a mystery that spans the stars.

Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From the Hugo Award­–winning author of Folding Beijing comes a gripping science fiction thriller in which three unlikely allies attempt a desperate mission of first contact with a mysterious alien race before more militaristic minds can take matters into their own hands.

Baby X by Kira Peikoff

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When any biological matter can be used to create life, stolen celebrity DNA sells to the highest bidder–or the craziest stalker–in this propulsive thriller. With a vivid imagining of the future, Gattaca meets Black Mirror in Kira Peikoff’s Baby X.

Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
L. M. Sagas’s debut, Cascade Failure, is a high-octane, sci-fi adventure blending J. S. Dewes’s Divide series with Firefly. It features a fierce, messy, chaotic space family, vibrant worlds, and an exploration of the many ways to be―and not to be―human.

APRIL 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Discover a rich world of magic, warriors, and dragons, in which a fearless orphan and an ambitious handmaiden flee from the empire that would imprison them, with a dream to return to their homelands and a determination that’s unbreakable…

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale “The Selkie Wife.”

A View from the Stars by Cixin Liu

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A View From The Stars features a range of short works from the past three decades of New York Times bestselling author Cixin Liu’s prolific career, putting his nonfiction essays and short stories side-by-side for the first time.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.

Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Gods and lawyers battle for the soul of the world in the action-packed second volume of Max Gladstone’s Craft Wars, an epic fantasy like no other.

Play of Shadows by Sebastien de Castell

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first book in a new swashbuckling fantasy series by the bestselling author of The Greatcoats.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance, which is Beauty and the Beast meets The Shape of Water by the Nebula-award winning author of Open House on Haunted Hill.

The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A determined young woman in 1950s Los Angeles walks a darker city than she ever imagined in a spellbinding novel about the power to make dreams come true―whatever the sacrifice.

The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From the subversive voice behind The Phlebotomist comes a story that combines the uncanny atmosphere of Don’t Worry Darling with the narrative twists of The Last House on Needless Street.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Celebrated author Sofia Samatar presents a mystical, revolutionary space adventure for the exhausted dreamer in this brilliant science fiction novella tackling the carceral state and violence embedded in the ivory tower while embodying the legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin.

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah F. Whitten

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush romantic epic fantasy series, the glittering and dangerous world of the Sainted King’s royal court is upended when Prince Bastian seizes control and a mysterious dark force begins to take over.

MAY 2024 BOOK RELEASES

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Maddileh’s tale contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion. Ultimately, The Fireborne Blade is about the roles we refuse to accept, and of the place we make for ourselves in the world.

Road to Ruin by Hana Lee

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
An electrifying, gritty fantasy from debut author Hana Lee that takes a royal messenger on a high-speed chase across a climate-ravaged wasteland, featuring motorcycles, monsters, and magic.

The Deer and the Dragon by Piper C.J.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Fantasy author Marlow has been haunted by what she believes is a figure of her imagination: a mysterious and alluring man she calls Caliban. But when Caliban disappears, her quest to find him throws her into the very world of gods, demons, and monsters her books have been based on for years.

Kavithri by Aman J. Bedi

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A vibrant, action-packed and empowering South Asian fantasy epic. An underdog story like no other – Kavithri will remind you of fantasy heroes like Arya Stark, Fang Runin or Gideon the Ninth.

Evocation by S.T. Gibson

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Evocation kicks off the Summoner’s Circle series, and follows David, a psychic medium and hotshot lawyer, who must team up with his sorcerer ex-boyfriend and the ex’s witch wife to break a family curse. Forced proximity, magic lessons, and polyamory ensure, all against the moody backdrop of Boston. 

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A powerful reimagining of the story of Ganga, goddess of the river, and her doomed mortal son, from Vaishnavi Patel, author of the instant New York Times bestseller Kaikeyi.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler’s laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The brutally engineered class divisions of Snowpiercer meets Rivers Solomon’s The Deep in this high-octane post-climate disaster novella written by Nommo Award-winning author Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A twisty new near-future genre-bending thriller: Knives Out in space with a Parasite twist. A decades-old murder looms over the glamorous clientele of a high-end space hotel . . . while an unforeseen threat percolates in the service corridors. The guests are about to experience the hospitality they deserve.

A House Like an Accordion by Audrey Burges

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A woman searches for her missing father in order to reconcile the many strange and fantastical secrets of her past before she loses herself completely in this deeply profound and magical novel by Audrey Burges.

JUNE 2024 BOOK RELEASES

Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this stunning conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Witcher meets Naomi Novik in this fast-paced fantasy rooted in Slavic folklore, from an assured new voice in genre fiction.

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charming, and irresistibly joyous tale of fierce friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
In this fiercely imaginative Filipino-inspired fantasy debut, a bisexual nun hiding a goddess-given gift is unwillingly transformed into a lightning rod for her people’s struggle against colonization.

Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Hearts will race and anti-grav boots will fly in this sapphic sci-fi rom-com, perfect for fans of Winter’s Orbit and The Red Scholar’s Wake, Lady Eve’s Last Con.

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From the acclaimed author of The Deep Sky comes a thrilling anti-colonial space heist to save an alien civilization.

Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Genres collide in this dark and atmospheric reimagining of 1930s Shanghai for fans of Nghi Vo and S. A. Chakraborty.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time.

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From the author of A Taste of Gold and Iron – Our Flag Means Death meets Six of Crows as a merry band of misfits attempts to get away with treason on the high seas.

Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rakesfall is a groundbreaking, standalone science fiction epic about two souls bound together from here until the ends of time, from the author of The Saint of Bright Doors

The Knife and the Serpent by Tim Pratt

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From Hugo Award winning author Tim Pratt comes a new, high-concept space opera, exploring technology, family and the price we pay to follow our destiny, perfect for fans of Peter F. Hamilton and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
By turns irreverently funny and deeply moving, this debut contemporary fantasy is perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

What SFF books are you looking forward to releasing in 2024? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Devour These Anticipated 2024 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

From the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, penned by the magnificent JK Rowling, to a new novel by George R.R. Martin, which follows the Targaryens centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones. Then there’s Skyward, a sci-fi novel by Brandon Sanderson, and a magical fantasy in Natasha Ngan’s Girls of Paper and Fire.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below which one you will be checking out!

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald – The Original Screenplay by JK Rowling
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

At the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

River Bodies by Karen Katchur
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A body just turned up in the small town of Portland, Pennsylvania. The crime is eerily similar to a twenty-year-old cold case: another victim, brutally murdered, found in the Delaware River. Lead detective Parker Reed is intent on connecting the two murders, but the locals are on lockdown, revealing nothing.

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R. R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros. Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. After seeing her mother snatched by royal guards a decade ago, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king’s consort. But Lei isn’t content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable–she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Liz Kendall wouldn’t hurt a fly. She’s a gentle woman devoted to bringing up her kids in the right way, no matter how hard times get. But there’s another side to Liz—one which is dark and malicious. A version of her who will do anything to get her way, no matter how extreme or violent. And when this other side of her takes control, the consequences are devastating. The only way Liz can save herself and her family is if she can find out where this new alter-ego has come from, and how she can stop it.

How She Died, How I Lived by Mary Crockett
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

On the eve of Kyle’s sentencing a year after Jamie’s death, all the other “chosen ones” are coping in various ways. But our tenacious narrator is full of anger, stuck somewhere between the horrifying past and the unknown future as she tries to piece together why she gets to live, while Jamie is dead. Now she finds herself drawn to Charlie, Jamie’s boyfriend–knowing all the while that their relationship will always be haunted by what-ifs and why-nots. Is hope possible in the face of such violence? Is forgiveness? How do you go on living when you know it could have been you instead?

Those Who Knew by Idra Novey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

On an unnamed island country ten years after the collapse of a U.S.-supported regime, Lena suspects the powerful senator she was involved with back in her student activist days is taking advantage of a young woman who’s been introducing him at rallies. When the young woman ends up dead, Lena revisits her own fraught history with the senator and the violent incident that ended their relationship. Why didn’t Lena speak up then, and will her family’s support of the former regime still impact her credibility? What if her hunch about this young woman’s death is wrong?

The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Moon Sister is the fifth epic story in the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. After the death of her father – Pa Salt, an elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from around the globe – Tiggy D’Aplièse, trusting her instincts, moves to the remote wilds of Scotland. There she takes a job doing what she loves; caring for animals on the vast and isolated Kinnaird estate, employed by the enigmatic and troubled Laird, Charlie Kinnaird. From the Scottish Highlands and Spain, to South America and New York, Tiggy follows the trail back to her own exotic but complex past. And under the watchful eye of a gifted gypsy bruja she begins to embrace her own talent for healing.

Amber & Dusk by Lyra Selene
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d’Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies. So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City and there the empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to assume what should be her rightful place, she’ll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay.

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

After the end of her marriage, Kate Granger has retreated to her parents’ home on Lake Superior to pull herself together—only to discover the body of a murdered woman washed into the shallows. Tucked in the folds of the woman’s curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She’s seen her before. In her dreams… One hundred years ago, a love story ended in tragedy, its mysteries left unsolved. It’s time for the lake to give up its secrets. As each mystery unravels, it pulls Kate deeper into the eddy of a haunting folktale that has been handed down in whispers over generations. Now, it’s Kate’s turn to listen.

What book are you most excited for this month? Tell us in the comments below!

The post November Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.